Away from the swollen crowds surrounding the likes of Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts on Super Bowl Opening Night, you'll find a few seasoned journalists talking to a silver-haired man in his sixties tucked near the barricade wall.
That man would be Jeff Stoutland, the Dean of "Stoutland University" and Philadelphia's long-time offensive line coach, whose reputation is taking on mythological status. He speaks directly and thoughtfully, mincing no words, particularly about his developmental prospect turned franchise left tackle.
"Let me just say this to you, Jordan Mailata is maybe the most unbelievable story in the history of the NFL," Stoutland says. "I mean that."
Hardly light praise from a man with 40 years of coaching experience featuring two college national championships and a Super Bowl ring.
"From where he came from, for the amount that he knew about football to where he is today, it's incredible," Stoutland says. "He is a great leader, he is a great player, he understands the game."
Mailata's path from South Sydney under-20s rugby league to the IPP, coming off the board in the seventh round in the 2018 NFL Draft and now established as an All-Pro left tackle is far from a secret. But his journey has answered, and challenged, an age-old question about those who find the sport so late in life.
"You know people would say sometimes, 'Can you learn instincts or is that just like innate, are you an instinctive player?'", Stoutland explains. "Well I watched it evolve, I saw it with my own two eyes, a guy coming from rugby (league), never playing football, to actually... when stuff was moving around early, he never knew ahead of time where he was going to move, he was always behind.
"But because he was so big and has good feet, he would be able to get in the way a little bit, maybe put his hand out or something."
From gifted but learning to experienced and educated, the Western Sydney product has taken his game to new heights in 2024, his ranking atop metrics like ESPN's pass rush win rate and Pro Football Focus' gradings meaning little compared to the praise of coach Stoutland.
"Now? He's already moved", Stoutland adds. "He's ahead of it because he's got the experience under his belt, and I'm very proud of him for that."
Now 27, Jordan Mailata looks to have provided a secure and powerful future for the Eagles on the left side of their offensive line, but he's not alone. Laekin Vakalahi landed in Philadelphia in May 2024 as their designated international player, drawing obvious comparison to his compatriot, and according to the Eagles locker room, his doppelgänger in Mailata.
At 21 years of age and with even less football experience, coach Stoutland feels a familiarity and a hint of excitement when talking about his latest arrival from down under.
"I feel like the consultant when it comes to the Australian football players, because every year I've got another guy to develop, so he's on the road, the Jordan road," he says.
"This ain't going to happen overnight. I will say this, if you [ask] what's unusual about Laekin, I would say his development at this point and how far he's come from the time he got here to where he is today."
So can Australian fans start to picture Aussie-Polynesian bookends at the tackle spots for the Eagles on the horizon, perhaps once future Hall-of-Famer Lane Johnson retires?
"Does that mean there's a finish? No. There's a long, long way to go," according to the Eagles' offensive line guru.
Even with a dash of caution sprinkled in, as Jordan and Laekin have shown, one can dream.